6.28.2007

6.24.2007

A couple recent quickie spots from the music column. Remember that flaptrap a few months ago concerning idiot Don Imus and that slightly more entertaining but still pretty much an idiot Al Sharpton? Yeah, I barely do either. Plus, a smelly hippy.

6.20.2007

I've been trying to come up with something interesting and useful to say about Heroes Can this past weekend...but really, I find myself struggling to find something that hasn't been said before. The show was awesome, as usual, and the grand Indie Island experinment seems to gain steam every year. Huge yet manageable crowds... I got to meet a ton of new people and talk to another couple dozen returning fans from years past. I was so busy jawing, in fact, that I scarcely had time to get out from behind the table to take any photos or buy much crazy fanboy crap...although I was excited to find and purchase an original, unopened set of C-3PO Underoos from 1980 that I'll give our soon-to-be-born daughter in about six years. Other con deals: lots of cheap, cheap trade paperbacks (I'm talking >$5) and a couple of those ridiculous Adam Hughes DC Comics Statue thingees.

If there's one thing I can be effusive about, it's my gratitude to the organizers and staff who put together one of the best, breeziest shows I've ever attended, year after year. I'm sure they're working their asses off all year, but once the middle of June rolls around, they make it look easy. And they take such good care of you! Even nobodies like myself! Those guys have my sincerest, undying gratitude.

6.18.2007

I found out over the weekend that I, along with art director Pete Morelewicz and writer John Metcalfe, took home First Prize at the Alt Weekly Awards (in the labyrinthine category of "Format Buster (circuation >60,000)") for the "Black Guide to Georgetown" spread that ran in the Washington City Paper last year! Some images can be seen here, and you can still read the original article on the City Paper's website. And trust me, them images is far more impressive in print than on screen!

Nods go out to my pal Josh Latta, who was nominated in the same category for his awesome comic from the ATL's Creative Loafing about Ralph Reed, and to the ever-lovin' J. Chris Campbell, who helped me make the illustrations look just right!

6.14.2007

Hey! This weekend I'm going to Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina! If you happen to find yourself in the Tarheel State, be sure to drop by..it should be quite the time! I'll be sharing some space with my pal Kelly Alder at Table 704 in Indie Island. I'll also be taking part in a panel inventively titled "Minicomics - Did You For Real Make That Yourself?" along with my good friends J. Chris Campbell, Jim Mahfood and Ben Towle!

A couple things I'm looking forward to, other than the hanging out and the drinking:

• Meeting Jerry Robinson: I very seldom take books along to cons to be autographed...but this is a notable exception. How can you resist getting the John Hancock and (hopefully) chatting for a few minutes with the man who pretty created the Joker and Robin during the formative years of Batman, even if that wily Bob Kane took all the credit! If the interview he did for the Comics Journal is to be believed, I bet this man has some amazing stories to tell.

•Buying some ridiculous item of fanboy crap. I seldom indulge, so it's always nice to pick out some wacky item and get a great con deal!

• Finally, being able to look one of my fans in the eye...specifically, the one who commissioned me to do the drawing below at Heroes Con 2004, a drawing I only recently finished and sent along!

6.11.2007

6.01.2007

I drew this a couple summers ago, for a suite of illustrations about clever D.I.Y. Xmas presents (I think) that ran in MAKE Magazine. It ended up being printed fairly small on the contents page, so I thought I'd dig it up and give iot a little room to breathe here on the blog. It's funny, looking at this illo, I can see about five things that I'd do differently now, even though it's only a couple years old...it's amazing how quickly one's methods change, constantly evolving and learning new tricks. One hopes, anyhow.

Old-Timey Hockey Tales

Celebrate the Golden Age of the coolest sport on earth. Features stories about Gordie Howe, Michel Briere, Lester Patrick and the Rocket Richard Riot. By Rob Ullman and Jeffrey Brown. 32 color and black and white pages, $6. Click the photo to order!

CONVENTIONS and APPEARANCES

Bio

ROBERT ULLMAN pays the bills as a freelance illustrator for a plethora of publications and clients, such as THE HOCKEY NEWS, PENTHOUSE, THE STRANGER, LAS VEGAS WEEKLY, HarperCollins, The U.S. Army and The American Red Cross. He creates comics in his spare time (of which there never seems to be enough), including ATOM-BOMB BIKINI, GRAND GESTURES, and OLD-TIMEY HOCKEY TALES.
rob (at) robullman (dot) com